Words in Grey
by Wenyuewen
Summary: Soulmate AU: Isabella Swan doesn't talk about soulmates and soulmarks. Really she'd rather pretend that the marks don't exist. It's hard to get through life when what should be a romantic promise instead tells Bella without a doubt that her match - Jasper Whitlock - is dead and gone. No, Bella is not interested in fate. (Bella/Jasper)
1. Chapter 1

**Notes** : I've been bitten by the 'soulmate' bug I've seen in so many other fandoms. Here's a Soulmark AU where the name of a person's soulmate is printed on their wrist. This will be a shorter fic, just to jump back into the swing of writing after my (long) hiatus. :)

 **Synopsis** : Isabella Swan doesn't talk about soulmates and soulmarks. She's uninterested by the romantic stories and dreams of most people who haven't met their match. Really she'd rather pretend that the marks don't exist. It's hard to get through life when what should be a romantic promise instead tells Bella without a doubt that her match - _Jasper Whitlock_ \- is dead and gone. No, Bella's not interested in fate. (Eventual Jasper/Bella)

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own anything from the Twilight franchise.

...

 **Words in Grey: Part I**

Bella scowls slightly, staring at the door in front of her. Here is is - the thing she has been dreading most about the move to Forks Washington and starting out at a new school. Deciding not to put it off any further, the teen knocks on the door. A soft "come in" echoes through the wood and Bella looks over her shoulder wistfully before slowly opening the door and slipping inside.

"Hi," the girl says, dragging her eyes up to meet those of the woman sitting behind the wooden desk and smiling at her. "I'm, uh, Bella. Isabella Swan."

"It's very nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Virginia Hadley."

Bella just nods and clumsily slumps into the chair on the other side of the desk. The teen knows the drill and after the stress of dealing with new people all day, she's not feeling inclined to play nice with this Virginia Hadley woman.

"You know why you were asked to stop by, correct?"

"Look, I know it's the rules and all, but I really don't think we need to talk about much. I'm okay. I've always been okay. I'm not about to let some grey smudge on my wrist ruin my life, so don't worry."

"I'm glad to hear it. Believe it or not, I do prefer it when my students are happy," Hadley says quickly, forcing the overly-nice smile on her face to grow even wider. Bella forces out a halfhearted wince of a smile in return. There's a long moment of silence, where both occupants in the room wait for the other to start talking.

It's the counsellor who finally gives in.

"As you do seem to know the drill, how about we get through the questions so you can go on your way, hm?" Hadley pulls a form out of a cabinet, picking up a pen and skimming the document. Bella can't help but wonder if this is the first time the woman has needed to fill out this form. She sure hopes not - the counselors who aren't used to people like her are always overly attentive and emotional.

"Okay," Bella says, carefully watching the woman to try and divine how well Hadley actually knows the questions. Unfortunately, the teen isn't a mind reader or particularly adept at gauging things like this, so the counselor's experience remains a mystery.

"So, Bella, are you aware of what a grey soulmark means?"

Hadley doesn't look up as she reads the question, and there's an all-too-honest softening of the woman's smile that has Bella ready to bolt. But instead of running out of the room screaming, the girl forces herself still and detached as she answers.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm going to need more than-"

"He's dead. My soulmate is dead. That is what the greyed out mark means." Bella bites out, trying to look as fine and unbothered as she knows she needs to in order to get out of this meeting without any follow-ups.

"Thank you, Bella. And how long has your mark been grey?"

Bella can't help but wince a little - there's the million dollar question right there. But she still is able to answer calmly. "My whole life. I was born with my mark and it was grey from the start."

Despite Virginia Hadley's efforts to hide it, the surprise that flashes across her expression is easily noticed given how intently Bella has been staring at the woman. And Bella can understand the surprise, honestly. While it's not unheard of to have a grey mark at Bella's age, it is rare. And it _is_ unheard of to be born with a grey mark.

But after just one moment of awkward shock, the woman recovers quickly and continues on with the questionnaire. "... And are you aware of the services offered to you by the Department of Matches, as a United States citizen with a grey mark?"

"Yeah. Upon my 21st birthday, I can enter into the database of Unmatched database and use that to help find a suitable partner. If no partner is found by my 65th birthday, I will be eligible for Unmatched Security in addition to Social Security for economic support. I also can make use of the Unmatched hotline and other counselling services at any time." Relieved that Hadley is at least professional enough to not get emotional, Bella easily rattles off the list of services without hesitation. She knows the standard answer here by heart; every time she's gone to a new school, a summer camp, an extracurricular activity, she's had to answer these questions.

"That is correct. I'd also like you to know that I am a certified counselor for the Department of Matches. If you ever need to talk, I am here."

Bella's pretty sure she doesn't manage to hide her wince at the offer. Talking about her mark is literally one of the last things she wants to do on any day. She'd made peace with it, she just wishes that the rest of the world could as well. "Like I said, I'm really okay. I mean, can't miss something that's never been around, right?"

The counselor seems to be a bit of a loss at what to say at that. Instead the woman just cranks up the wattage on her phony smile and strokes her own - clearly marked in vivid black - forearm. Bella winces again at the sight and immediately re-evaluates the woman's professionalism and experience. A hurried goodbye after signing the questionnaire, and Bella is out of the office as fast as she can.

There's about ten minutes left of the lunch hour by the time Bella finds herself free of the school counsellor's office. More drained by the encounter than she's happy admitting, Bella heads for her locker - and the sandwich she'd stashed inside this morning.

…..

Bella is exhausted and more than a little grumpy by the time she finally gets back to her father's house after her first day at school. She'd never managed to find her way back to her locker and had also been ten minutes late to her afternoon English Lit class. So she'd faced the rest of her day hungry and stressed and overwhelmed with the new faces that seemed to alternate between welcoming, indifferent, and way to curious for Bella's comfort. As soon as the final bell of the day had rung, Bella had bolted, forgoing any attempt to locate her locker and just letting the crush of students wash her out the front doors of the school and into the overcast, chilly afternoon.

She lets herself into the strange house, turning on lights as she trods up the stairs to her room. It was a small mercy that Charlie wasn't home - one less awkward conversation she'd have to get through. After a shower and a phone call to her mother's answering machine - "Hey mom, everything went okay today. Talk to you later. Love you!" - Bella's feeling a bit more human.

She heads to the kitchen, using the brand new cooking supplies she'd bought with Charlie just days ago when she'd arrived in town to assemble a chicken salad. The teen devours her half within moments of sitting at the table. "I really need to find my locker again," Bella confides to her empty plate.

"I'm home!" A loud voice calls out as the front door lock unlatches. Bella takes a deep breath as her father walks inside and spots her at the table.

"Hey, Charlie."

"Bella. You ate? That's - good, that's great. Eating is great." Charlie says, standing at the other side of the table, looking down at the girl and looking almost as uncomfortable as Bella feels watching it.

"I left you some. It's in the fridge," Bella waves behind her towards the kitchen, trying to get the man to do anything other than stumble around unnecessary attempts to get to know her again. At least not on a day like today when she's already running low on patience. She'd rather leave 'bonding with her formerly estranged father' for a day when she's in a bit of a better mood.

Luckily, Charlie takes the hint and runs with it. "Thanks, Bella. Hey, leave your plate and I'll wash it when I'm done."

The girl is on her feet and heading to the stairs an instant later. "Thanks, Charlie. Night."

"Good night, Bella."

…..

Bella stands in the hallways of her new school scowling at her faulty memory. She'd put off finding her locker yesterday, but was no closer to remembering where it was today than she was the day before.

"Why do we even need lockers anyways?" She grumbles to herself, turning into another hallway and looking for her number to magically appear on one of the metal boxes. "We never needed them in Phoenix, perfectly capable of carrying our stuff."

"But what about all the poor one armed teens in the world?" Bella looks to the side and sees a boy grinning at her, looking very pleased with his insight.

"I assume they'd have bags," Bella says dumbly, trying to figure out how to get this over enthusiastic teen away from her. Her discomfort ramps up when instead of looking put off or taking the hint, the boy just laughs way too loudly and enthusiastically for 8 in the morning.

"You're so funny!" The boy says once the initial burst of laughter calms. "But, hey, what's the number? I'll help you find it."

Bella knows she needs help, so despite her initial urge to brush him off, she replies, "312."

The boy thinks for a moment, talking out loud as he does, "Let's see… I have a friend who has 370 and his locker is over by the English classrooms. So lets start there!" Then the boy is waving the girl to follow as he starts down the hallway.

"Thanks," Bella says, remembering her manners as they walk.

"No problem!" The boy looks over to her and smiles. "I'm uh, I'm Mike, by the way. Mike Newton."

Mike is looking intently at Bella, likely looking for a reaction to the name and waiting to hear hers. She doesn't want to keep him hoping so she quickly introduces herself as well. "Bella Swan."

The reaction is immediate. Mike looks down with a wry smile and a quiet, "I see."

As he continues to walk, he finally outright broaches the topic Bella was both dreading and expecting. "So, you meet your match yet?"

The question is one she's heard before, and not just from guys trying to flirt. After all, it was one of the most important distinctions for people to make in their interactions. Even the skeeviest guys usually don't flirt with people who've found their match. But if they hadn't, well, a lot of teens dated fast and free, enjoying the impermanence of fleeting interactions before they find their True Love and live happily ever after or whatever.

Even knowing she had not fated meeting waiting for her in the future, Bella wasn't about to jump into a teenage hookup just because. One of her last shrinks had told her it was because knowing that there isn't a likely match in her future made her less willing to bide her time on something meant to be fleeting. Bella hadn't been able to disagree with Dr. Thesin, but she'd also never admitted buying that crap out loud to the woman either.

So instead she threw out the one other answer besides 'yes and we are so much in love' that almost always guaranteed to get her left alone.

"No, but I'm waiting."

Immediately Mike let out a soft 'ah' and took a full blessed step away from her. "That's uh, that's great. Waiting, that is. My, uh, my mother said she did too."

Bella's annoyance fades a bit now that this discussion is winding down, and even feels a small spark of sympathy for the boy. "Thanks for your help," She says for the first time, giving the boy a small smile now that it's safe. His returning smile is less intense than the ones from a few minutes ago, and Bella is relieved that Mike is polite enough to let it go easily.

"No problem. Hey, what class do you have first? I can help you find it!"

"Spanish 2," Bella responds.

Mike's face lights up, "With Mrs. Ibasa? My friends Jessica and Angela have that class first today to. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Then the boy is off again, leaving Bella trailing behind.

…..

Angela and Jessica are nice, though Bella can tell that Jessica is not the type of girl Bella would want to spend too much time with. She may have ignored it in the initial meeting, but the girl definitely noticed the challenging tilt to the head, the superior smirk and the slight competitive drawl to everything Jessica said. Bella can tell within one conversation that Jessica likes to be seen as the best. But, it is also nice to not be completely alone in classes, to have a known face to give a smile to when the teacher makes a bad joke or someone to wince with when seeing the amount of homework handed out.

So she appreciates the acquaintances, but still plans to slip outside to eat alone when the time comes.

…..

Bella has always had a love hate relationship with the sciences. On one hand, it's one of the subjects least likely to bring up the matter of soulmates, or at least the romantic idealization of soulmates. But on the other hand, classes that require group work have never made Bella comfortable. And today, on her second day in a new school and knowing only one other person - Jessica, who is seated next to another girl clear on the other side of the room - Bella is pretty sure the class is going to be super awkward.

She slides into a seat at the only empty table, pulls out her crisp new notebook and textbook, and crosses her fingers under the table. _Please be dull and nice. Please be dull and nice._ Bella repeats her mantra in her head as she fidgets in her seat and waits for someone to sit next to her.

She glances around the room in an attempt to stop fidgeting. On the way, her eyes make contact with Angela, who gives a quick grin at the brunette before turning back to talk to her partner. Taking a deep breath Bella sees the door open and an oddly handsome boy walk into the room. He looks over towards her and she gives a small smile acknowledging the eye contact.

When the boy walks over and sits next to her, Bella mentally steels herself to say hi. As if she wasn't intimidated enough at the prospect of group work with a stranger, group work with a freaking _handsome_ , _chiseled_ stranger is a bit much for her frayed nerves. Before the silence can drag on too long, Bella looks at her new neighbor again. "Hi, I'm Bella."

The teen gives herself a mental high five at how normal and fine that came out. She's just starting to think the class may not be so bad when she realizes the boy's face is not exactly welcoming. Blinking in surprise, Bella realizes the teen before her looks almost disgusted as he stares at her.

"Um…" Bella starts, not knowing what to say to figure out what on earth she could have done to offend this guy so much. But before she can scramble together a question, the boy shoots to his feet and stalks out of the classroom.

"What the hell?" Bella murmurs, staring in shock at the empty doorway.

…..

Bella's plans to eat alone at lunch are derailed when Jessica immediately clamps onto her arm and leads her into the lunch room and down beside Angela and Mike. Bella is still confused by that weirdo's behavior in class that she barely processes the action.

"So, that guy who sat next to me in Biology, what's his deal?" Bella asked with a slight scowl on her face, as she looked towards her new acquaintances for answers.

"Oh? What's this? Already got your eye on some man candy, new girl?" Mike asks with a flush on his face and a bit of bitterness in his tone.

"I doubt it. Bella has a bit of an… awkward encounter with one of the Cullens," Angela answers. Then she pauses and looks over at the brown haired teen with a curious look. "Unless, maybe your name is a familiar one to him?" Angela shakes her own covered wrist and raises her eyebrows.

Bella rolls her eyes, uncomfortable that the conversation has already gone in that direction. "Trust me, Cullen is not a name I'm familiar with."

"Hmm, then I'm not really sure what that was all about," Angela says softly after taking a sip of her soda. "Though the Cullens have never been very sociable. They kind of stick to themselves."

"Stick to themselves? How many of them are there?" Bella asks, startled by the idea of a bunch of teenagers spending all their time with their siblings. She didn't have any sisters of brothers herself, but she always thought that siblings tended to not want to live in each others's pockets.

Jessica takes over the explanation with glee, happy to give the gossip to new ears, "There's five of them, though they are apparently two sets of siblings and a fifth kid, all adopted by this super rich doctor who moved to town a year ago. It's super weird though, because Rosalie and Emmett are totally in a relationship with each other, even though they are legally siblings. Rumor has it that Jasper and Alice are too, though nothing concrete has been observed at school."

Bella's eyebrow twitches at the sound of the name 'Jasper'. Every time she's heard that name over the course of her life she's had to fight down the flare of hope. Even if she met someone with the exact name on her wrist, if his heart is beating it won't be _her_ Jasper. So the protective and petty part of her dislikes everyone who reminds her of that.

"-mean how can that work?!" Bella tunes back into Jessica's explanation at the tail end of something that has her hands waving excitedly. So the teen just gives a small nod to pretend she was paying attention and digs into her lunch.

…..


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes** : Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the last chapter! Here's a quick chapter, unbeta-ed, so apologies for any mistakes. We're getting close to there almost being actual plot, haha. The next update might be a bit slower, as the holidays are suddenly -here-. Speaking of, to any and all who celebrate events this month - Happy _ !

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own anything of the Twilight franchise.

 **Words in Grey: Part II**

The next day, Bella takes advantage of the fact that her last class before lunch contains no one she's met - meaning no Jessica, Angela or Mike - and slips away outside before she can be dragged to sit and socialize again. While the three had been nice enough yesterday, Bella is eighty-five percent sure she'd scream if she had to sit through another lunch full of high school gossip about soul mate matches. She just didn't have the patience for that while also trying to settle into her new schedule and life.

So instead, the girl wanders outside. She's disappointed by the enduring gloomy overcast skies keeping a chill in the air - Bella would have loved a bit of sunshine to picnic in. But the fresh air is still nice, and the weather keeps most of the other students hidden away inside. So she wanders the ground, lunch sack in hand and looks for a quiet place to eat.

She turns a corner and sees a lone student sitting under a tree just ahead. It takes Bella only a moment to recognize the glamorous blonde as one of the 'Cullens' that Jessica and Angela had joyfully educated her on yesterday. As Angela and Jessica had walked with Bella to their last class of the day, they's pointed the girl out, whispering "That's Rosalie, one of the Cullens" as they'd rushed past.

And here the girl is, just as blonde and weirdly perfect as she'd seemed from a distance yesterday. Still bothered by this Cullen girl's brother's reactions yesterday, Bella has crossed the grounds and approached the girl before realizing it.

"Can I help you?" the beautiful blonde girl says, raising an eyebrow at Bella. Bella stops for a moment, suddenly regretting her insane decision to approach the other girl. It was more than a little intimidating to confronting a girl with such perfect skin. And that hair… "What was I thinking?" Bella whispers to herself.

"I'm sure I don't know," Rosalie Hale replies drily. "So you can just… go on then."

Bella nods and turns to walk away. She'd only taken one step when she spins around again and blurts out her question before she has another chance to change her mind. "I just… I wanted to see if you know what I did to piss off your brother. Edward, I think. In Biology yesterday, I don't know if you heard about it from him. I mean, he looked like he wanted to murder me and then he disappeared and … well… if I did something to upset him I'd like to know so I can apologize. I swear I didn't-"

"Oh my god, shut up!" The blonde cuts Bella off mid rant, glaring at the girl and looking decidedly uncomfortable. "From what Alice told me, you didn't do anything. My brother is just an idiot."

Bella blinks, mouth still open though she stopped talking when the other girl demanded it. She processes what she was told for a minute before her shoulders slump in relief. "Oh. Okay."

Rosalie just stares in response. The awkwardness of the situation ramps up in Bella's mind, as the teen remembers Jessica gleefully stating how all the Cullen siblings refrain from socializing at school. Meaning it is definitely past time for Bella to leave the other girl alone. "Okay. Well then," Bella states, her fingers nervously reaching up towards her shoulder and tangling up in some of the dark strands of hair draped there. "Thanks, and have a good lunch. It was nice to meet you."Bella gives what she hopes is a thankful - and not totally awkward stalker style - smile and quickly retreats back inside.

AS the door closes behind her, Bella decides maybe she'll go sit through lunch with Jessica and the others after all.

…..

The rest of the week passes in a boring whir of school, homework, sleep, repeat. Bella is just as happy as every other student once the final bell rings on Friday afternoon. She takes a back route out of the school to avoid the worst of the crowds, jumps in the truck Charlie had given her to use, and high tails it back to the house as fast as she can.

She's in a good mood by the time she pulls into the driveway. She's in an even better mood by the time she's dumped her classwork in her room, taken a quick shower, and started making her favorite recipe in the kitchen. Several hours pass as Bella hums along with the radio, letting the familiar motions of cooking relax her and erase the stresses of her first week at school.

"Smells good," Charlie Swan calls out as the door swings shut in the other room.

"Thanks, it should be done in an hour," Bella yells back, stirring the mushroom sauce and setting it to simmer.

"How was your day at school? Lots of homework for the weekend?" Charlie asks as he sits down at the kitchen table and looks at his daughter.

"It was alright. Glad it's the weekend though," Bella admits with a smile. Charlie doesn't say anything in response, so after a few seconds, Bella looks over at the man. His smile has vanished and has been replaced with a pinched stare. Following his gaze, Bella glances down, noticing with some surprise that her forearm is uncovered and baring the damning greyed out lettering to the world.

Shit.

"I'll be back in a bit to finish up," Bella says quickly as she tries to subtly move her arm behind her body. "Everything is done, it just needs to simmer a bit longer."

She's out of the room before Charlie even notices her moving. She's up the stairs before she hears the screech of chair legs along the floor and the tell-tale chinking of a beer bottle getting taken from the fridge.

In her room, Bella grabs one of the many forearm sleeves designed specially for keeping soulmarks hidden and private, and slips it back on. She can't believe she had forgotten to put one back on after her shower. Once satisfied her arm is fully covered once more, Bella falls backwards onto her bed with a sigh. Charlie's pinched face from the kitchen comes to the forefront of her mind. Bella growls and rolls over, burying her face in her pillows as she tries to banish the look from her mind. She's seen it on her parents too many times over the years to care to see it any more.

Bella has always known that Charlie and Renee Swan are not soulmates. When Bella was learning to read, she'd once sounded out the words on Charlie's arm and been surprised when it didn't say her mother's name. Her parents had sat her down and explained how Charlie had met his soulmate in high school - Deborah Marson. Debbie had been Renee's best friend in school, which was how Charlie and Renee met. But Charlie had lost Debbie before graduation to a drunk driver. Which is why Charlie had jumped right into the police department after school - studies have shown that almost 50% of all law enforcement officials joined due to something happening to their soul mates, so it's not a very unique decision on Charlie's part.

Renee and Charlie had then told young Bella that they had decided to start a family together, which Bella now knows means that they'd slept together when they were both grieving and Renee had ended up pregnant. So the couple had been married - in one of those quick-dissolve marriages that have a clause added that allows for a premeditated, near-instant divorce should either spouse encounter their soulmate.

Though, Renee and Charlie's marriage had ended long before Renee ever met Paul. And Bella was pretty sure that a big factor had been her own stupid soul mark. She wasn't stupid or blind; the girl had grown up seeing the horrified, pitying, guilty looks on both of her parent's faces often enough to see how her dead soulmate bothered them. They'd never been that compatible, and the guilt they seemed to constantly feel about Bella's situation just tore into every aspect of their lives until Charlie practically lived at work and Renee demanded a divorce and whisked Bella away to Phoenix.

Bella knows better than to let her parent's be reminded of her soul mark. She'd been sloppy. And lazy.

Feeling terrible about how she made Charlie feel, Bella almost calls her mom. She's used to talking to Renee when she's not feeling good. But she puts down her cell phone before she hits dial, not wanting to ruin her mother's happy honeymoon phase with a reminder that her daughter is fated to be alone. Bad enough Bella has reminded one parent today.

Growling again into her pillow, Bella kicks her legs in a small tantrum, trying to jolt herself out of the morose angsting she'd falling into.

"It doesn't matter," she reminds herself. "Soul marks don't matter."

She keeps repeating those words until a timer goes off downstairs and Bella jumps out of bed to go finish dinner. As she dishes up the food, she almost has herself convinced that she feels better.

…

By the time Bella is up and about the next morning, Charlie has already headed into an early Saturday shift at the station. Bella finds a simple note on the kitchen table, reminding her where her father is, and the teen can't quite figure out if she is relieved or disappointed by his absence. It's hard to know how to feel about a parent who hasn't been a part of her life in so long. But Bella is determined not to be morose all weekend. As she eats a quick breakfast, she pulls up the map into the nearby city on her phone. A day in a city, surrounded by strangers and relaxing in familiar chain businesses, and maybe Bella will feel more lively. And less homesick.

The drive is not as long as the girl had expected. It seems even on the weekends the roads are not terribly busy. Less than an hour after leaving the house, Bella is sliding into a table at a familiar coffee shop brand, pulling out her laptop and textbook and diving into her weekend homework. The interior decorating is so uniform, the girl can almost pretend that she'd in the cafe she'd often studied in back in Phoenix.

The brunette smiles at the thought and takes a sip of her coffee. This is a much more productive environment for studying than her depressingly unfamiliar room in that depressingly unfamiliar town.

"Hey, new girl, right?" The boisterous greeting is followed by the loud thunk of bags being set on the ground and the screech of the chair across the table from Bella. Startled, the teen looks up, meeting the eyes of an unfamiliar young man.

"Hi?" She asks, her confusion clear on her face. She honestly cannot remember ever seeing this boy before, though if he's calling her 'new girl' she assumes he goes to Forks High.

"Oh, I'm Emmett. Emmett Cullen," Obviously picking up on her uncertainty, the boy - Emmett - quickly introduces himself with a wave.

"Oh. I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you. I've met two of your siblings, kind of," The girl replies.

"Yeah, I heard all about Edward. Don't worry about it," There's a look that crosses his face for a moment that confuses Bella even more than she was before he'd introduced himself. It's that look of old regrets that she saw just last night on her father's face.

Bella has had more than enough of other people's emotional drama for a while, so she quickly spits out the first thing she thinks of to change the topic. "I met Rosalie too. Though I think I annoyed her even more when I said hi." Bella tries to play off the admission with a forced, weak laugh. So far her track record in interacting with the Cullens has been very poor, and she hopes that 'third time's the charm' works in this situation to give a better conversation with this Cullen.

"She told me! Rose gets annoyed easily, so don't take it to heart. Actually, it's pretty impressive, I think you really flustered her. She brought up your meeting twice that day, so you obviously made a bit of an impression. And trust me, my girl is not easily impressed. Makes anniversary gifts a pain in the ass," Emmet trails off with a looney smile on his face.

Lovestruck, that's what it is.

"So you're really dating your sister? I thought that was just over exaggerated gossip." Bella winces as soon as the words are out. Oddly close family relations are probably not the best topic to bring up with a stranger.

But Emmett just laughs, seemingly unbothered, "Adopted sister, so it's not as gross as it sounds. Besides, she's my soul mate - that's why I was adopted actually. Carlisle and Esme - that's our parents - took me in to make sure that Rose and I wouldn't be seperated."

Soulmates. Of course.

Though, seeing how blissful and soft Emmett looks thinking about Rosalie, Bella can't quite work up her normal distaste for the topic. Though that doesn't mean she wants to talk about it any more than this however. "That's sweet, I guess. So what brings you here?"

"Rosalie, honestly."

"Huh?" And the confusion returns again. Bella can't help but wonder what it is with this family that leaves her constantly off-balance when talking with them.

"Well, you talked to her. We have a bit of a reputation at Forks, a deserved one, I guess. But it means that no one really talks to us, besides our siblings. So I was a bit excited to meet you after Rose mentioned you. And there you were, sitting right by the window as I was walking by, hauling Alice's purchases after she ditched me, and it was like fate!" Emmet laughs and pats the pile of bags at his feet.

Bella still isn't sure that his story makes any sense, but the guy looks too satisfied with things for her to bother fighting it. Besides, she can sympathize with the loneliness of isolation. She was careful to hide things now, but she couldn't forget that last year of Middle School, when her greyed mark had been revealed in gym class and Bella had become a bit of an outcast herself. It's only natural to avoid what you aren't sure you know how to deal with, after all.

So, Bella settles herself in for a full on conversation. At least Emmett is matched so shouldn't get creepy the way others often get. "Alice, she's another sibling?"

The grin he flashes is nearly blinding. "Yeah, Alice and Jasper are the two you haven't met yet. Jasper went out of town with Edward for a bit, so you won't have seen him around school. Alice is going to go meet them too, so she'll be gone after today. The house will definitely be quieter!"

Then Emmett dives into an explanation about all of his siblings, his parents, his hobbies, his future goals, basically anything he can think of. Bella finds herself swept up in the conversation, not sharing much in return, but enjoying the company nonetheless.

They chat for about thirty minutes more before Emmett cuts off a story about an unfortunate stray dog incident to answer his ringing phone. "Hey Alice. You finally remembered me, huh? Yeah, I'll meet you there."

Hanging up he looks at Bella and gives an apologetic smile. "That was my sister."

"It was nice to meet you. See you around, I guess?" Bella says, waving off his unspoken apology.

"You know it!" Emmett picks up his bags and is out the door seconds later. Bella just shakes her head and looks back at her homework assignment. Happily, she thinks she just made a friend.

Bella doesn't realize it at the time, but that conversation with Emmett seemed to open the floodgates to his friendliness. The next week at school, every time Bella passes by the large teen in the hallways, he gives her a wave and a "Hey, Bella!"

It was a bit unsettling at first, but soon she is used to the loud greetings - and used to ignoring the questioning of Jessica and Mike at the friendliness of one of the aloof Cullens. They don't interact any more than that, however, and soon two more weeks of school have passed.

…..

"There you are."

Bella starts at the unexpected voice that breaks through studious haze. Blinking away the after images of math formulas, Bella looks up and is startled to find Rosalie of the Cullen siblings standing there with a slight scowl on her face. "I've been looking all over for you. You really do insist on eating in strange places, you know?"

Thoroughly confused, Bella sends a quick glance around to verify that yes, she is the only person in range whom Rosalie could be speaking to. "Hi, Rosalie."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Rosalie asks, getting straight to business without returning the pleasantry.

"I was going to go into the city. I need warmer clothes," Bella says. She tries not to sound confused, instead is trying to accept the strangeness of this conversation and move on. "Did you want me to pick up something for you?"

The offer seems to surprise the blonde. Rosalie opens her mouth and closes it again, blinking at the girl before finally speaking again. "No, I want to go with you. Or I want you to come with me."

Bella winces a bit, not wanting to turn her down, but also not wanting to say yes. She's not a big fan of shopping, and something tells her that her quick errand will turn into a whole _thing_ with the other teen along. Rosalie looks like someone who keeps her parent's credit card busy.

"Emmett thinks you're interesting," Rosalie says, before Bella can think of a way to turn down the proposal. "Since he seems intent on adopting you or whatever, I figure I should probably see what the big deal is. And I've got good taste in clothes - I can help you find the right ones."

Now it's Bella's turn to be slightly surprised. She honestly had no idea what could have prompted Rosalie's demand to spend time together, but doing it to make her boyfriend happy was not something Bella would have guessed. Though, thinking about it, it seems like a sweet gesture. For Emmett, not for Bella. Figuring Bella doesn't have enough (or any) real friends here in Forks to start turning people away, Bella sighs and says, "Okay."

"I'll pick you up at 9. Here, this is my phone number. Send me a text with your address later."

As soon as Bella takes the offered slip of paper, Rosalie is gone. Bella just sits there, confused and dazed by the encounter. And also, "How fast is she?"

…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes** : Ughhh… the last few weeks have killed me. What is sleep? Haha, sorry for the delay, here's the next chapter! I intended to have the first half be longer and take the entire chapter, but trying to make it work was like banging my head on a cemebt wall. So there is a POV change halfway through.

Thanks again to everyone who has been reading, following, favorite-ing, and reviewing! And happy new year!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own anything of the Twilight franchise.

 **Words in Grey: Part III**

At exactly nine the next morning, a spotless white Jeep pulls into the Swan driveway. Bella sees it through the window as she'd pulling her well worn shoes on, and is completely unsurprised that this is the car driven by the always immaculate Rosalie Cullen. She sends a wave towards the shadowy figure she sees through the car windows, grabs her bag from where she tossed it earlier, and is out the door as fast as she can stumble.

"Good morning," She wheezes after opening the Jeep door into her stomach in her haste to get into the car. Bella doesn't bother to look at Rosalie's face, knowing the expression on it would probably just embarrass Bella even more. Settling into the car, she snaps her seat belt into place and finally works up the nerve to glance at her shopping partner.

"Morning, Bella," the blonde says, tone and face both remarkably neutral.

And with that the car is moving, radio quietly playing top 40 pop in the background as the two girls try to pretend the silence is not at all awkward.

…..

A few attempts at stilted conversation break out over the course of the car ride. While these attempts always trail off with one of the girls lapsing back into silence, the initial awkward feel within the car never regains its original, oppressive levels. Bella admits to herself that she'd rather proud of that, at least. And it isn't like she doesn't like Rosalie, it's just that the teen has never been too great with small talk and bonding, and Rosalie is exactly the type of confident young woman that Bella had never tried to get to know back in Phoenix.

Things go smoother once Rosalie parks the car in the shopping center - early morning meaning the lot is near empty and the stores are just now opening their doors. With the buffer of an activity - even if it _is_ shopping, the two girls are able to converse with less obvious starts and stops.

Bella is surprised by the voracity with which Rosalie Hale approaches the 'Bella has no weather appropriate clothes since she'd from a desert climate' issue. An hour after arriving, and the pair are already in their second department store, Rosalie showing piles of sweaters over the door into the changing room for Bella, and keeping watch on the two bags the girls purchased earlier.

All in all, things have been going okay. At least, until Bella got to the demon sweater.

The burgundy piece looks nice, but it is covered in random zips and buttons and even a lace up tie section. It takes about ten seconds after starting to put it on for Bella to get hopelessly tangled in the monstrosity. Bella lets out a gurgled shriek as she trips over her feet - with her arms still tangled and her vision still blocked by the sweater, she's unable to stop her fall and lands with a loud thunk on the ground. A loud thunk that _hurts_.

"Ow."

The teen lies there for a moment, still hopelessly tangled in this disastrously 'fashionable' nightmare of a clothing item. She knows she'll have to resume her pathetic struggles eventually, but for now all she can do is lie sprawled on the dressing room floor and let her throbbing elbow, ankle and ass complain.

"How the hell did you manage this?" The surprised voice of Rosalie Hale reaches Bella's ears, not even slightly muffled by the fabric. "Oh, you didn't see the zipper here, or undo the ties. Seriously? Here let me." And suddenly Bella feels think fingers around her arms, helping her to sit up and maneuvering her limbs to finally find their way through the maze of a sweater. With help, Bella is fully - and properly - covered by the sweater in seconds. She glances up and Rosalie then beyond the girl to the mirror. For all the trouble it caused, the sweater does look good. The zip and ties managing to look elegant instead of ridiculous, the deep burgundy going well with Bella's pale complexion, the elbow length sleeves cutting her arms nicely and …

Bella stops short, staring in the mirror.

And revealing her soul mark! She glances around the floor of the dressing room frantically, and spots her arm cover over by her purse. It must have opened and fallen off while Bella struggled with the demon sweater. Hoping that the reveal has gone unnoticed, Bella tilts her forearm towards the ground to hide the letters and glances nervously up at Rosalie. "Shit," She curses without noticing, since Rosalie is staring very openly and obviously at her forearm, mouth slightly open.

Bella moves the arm even further away from the blonde's line of sight. "Look, can we just, pretend that didn't happen?" Bella asks shortly. Rosalie remains quiet, staring at the space where Bella's arm had been without moving. "It's grey, he's dead, end of story. Not a big deal, you know?"

"Dead," The other girl finally whispers. Bella looks at the girl, at how confused and at a loss for words the normally impeccable Rosalie Hale looks. She's seen this look before - she had a few classmates in the past, who had never been confronted with the reality of dead soul mates. Usually, it was the people who had found their matches already, who were completely in love and looking forward to a glowing bright future of unicorns and rainbows and puppies who had the hardest time with the idea of a broken match. Remembering the lovesick look on Emmett's face when the boy told Bella about how he was Rosalie's match, Bella can understand why the implacable Rosalie might looks so disturbed by the grey words.

Could Rosalie imagine a world without Emmett?

Is she imagining it now?

"Look," Bella says, tone soft and trying to present the clinical tone she is used to using on school counselors and other officials. "It happens. But it happened to me, not you, and I'm at peace with it. So please let's just... not make a big deal about it?" The teen winces internally at how small her voice got at the end. But in all honesty, Bella had appreciated hanging out with someone who hadn't already found out about her 'special circumstance'.

Finally, Rosalie seems to snap out of her shock and moves over to where her wrist cover had fallen. Without a word, she hands it back to Bella. As the brunette fastens it firmly back around her forearm, Rosalie looks at her watch.

"There's another two stores we need to get to before the crowds arrive this afternoon. I'll bring the yes pile to the front while you change back," Rosalie grabs the small pile of sweaters and is quickly out of the changing room.

As soon as she's gone, Bella heaves a sigh of relief. It seems for once one of her classmates really will respect her wish to just _not talk about it_. A small smile crosses her face and Bella realizes that Rosalie really is kind of nice, in her own intimidatingly put together way.

But the smile disappeared a moment later as Bella looked back down at the sweater she was not fastened into. "Okay, but Rosalie?"

"Yes?" Rings out from outside the changing room.

"I have no idea how to take this stupid sweater off."

…

Emmett has to admit to himself that one of the big perks of being an immortal vampire is being around long enough to see so many iterations of Mortal Kombat. Letting out a whoop as he finishes another match with a bloody fatality against his online opponent, Emmett can't help but give a quiet prayer of gratitude that Rose saved him back in the 30s instead of leaving him to be mauled to death by a bear. Virtual dismemberment is much preferable. And a whole lot more fun.

Before he can start up another match, he hears the familiar hum of Rosalie's Jeep approaching the house. He has the game closed down, the pillows back on the sofa, and is standing in the garage by the time the door opens and his beautiful blonde angel drives inside.

"Welcome back, baby," Emmett greets as he opens the driver door and reaches a hand out to help Rosalie out of the car. She rolls her eyes affectionately and accepts the hand. A short kiss once both of her feet are on the ground, then Emmett turns around and gets several bags of the the trunk where he knew something would be. He meets Rose by the door and gives her his free arm as they walk into the house and up to the third floor where their rooms are.

Tossing the bags on the bed, Emmett turns, intending to sweep Rosalie into a much more passionate greeting than the quick peck in the garage. Arms holding hers, mouth rushing towards Rosalie's, then falling off course and hovering in the air by her ear as he process the words his wife just spoke.

"What?" He squeaks into her ear.

"That Bella has the name Jasper Whitlock on her arm," Rosalie repeats, louder and with no inflection.

Emmett hovers a moment longer by Rose's ear before pulling back and staring into the blonde's face. As calm as she sounds and looks, he's known Rosalie for enough years to recognize the distress simmering below the surface. He opens his mouth to ask the only question he can think of, but Rose interrupts before he gets a word out.

"There's no way it's our Jasper," Slender fingers reach towards Emmett's arm, turning it over and tracing the dark, black words written upon it. _Rosalie Lillian Hale_.

"Why not?"

"Her mark is grey," Rose's gaze is still locked on the black on Emmett's arm. "So it can't be. At first, I thought it might make sense - vampires are technically dead as our hearts don't beat. But…" Rosalie trails off, using her free hand to track the black letters on her soulmate's arm.

Emmett knows how the sentence would have ended anyways. _But if that were the case, your mark would be grey too._

And just like that, Emmett realizes that in all these years they've been together, there is one story he forgot to tell her. One story that he'd always thought insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but now could be vitally important.

"Rose," Emmett starts. Then he stops, swallows, and tries to find the right words. As he gathers his thoughts, he gently pulls his love across the room to the bed. They position themselves so they are sitting together, shoulder to shoulder, against the headboard of their large bed. Once settled, Emmett turns his arm to look at the words on his forearm. "Rose, when I was 18, the day you were turned, my mark turned grey."

"What?" Rosalie's surprise is sharp and loud.

"Your name turned grey. I remember it so vividly. I'd been out with some friends, drinking and partying - you know how I was. Then, suddenly, the table got quiet and I realized everyone was staring at my arm. I never bothered to cover it, it wasn't like today where it so easy to search for names, you know? And I looked down too, and…" Emmett trails off, trying to shake the vividness of the memory away. He slug his other arm around Rosalie to remind himself that she was real and alive and here. "It was grey. The Rosalie I'd lived most of my life waiting for was gone in an instant and I'd never even known her."

"Em. I didn't, I never asked, I can't imagine," Rosalie interjects into the silence. She leans further into Emmett's embrace and sniffs. "So how did it turn black again?"

Emmett lets out a small, bitter laugh. "It didn't. It's pretty illegal, and even back then it was hard to find someone to do it, but I went into the city and tracked down a tattoo artist. He was real skilled, and specialized in things like this. It cost all my savings, but he covered it in exactly the perfect shade of black to make it seem like you were still alive."

Rose runs her hand across her name on his arm, trying to see any hint of the grey underneath. "It's well done. I never noticed."

"That was the point. I just. I just couldn't stand looking at that reminder that I'd been drinking and gambling away the only time I could have had with you. I wanted to pretend that you were still out there, happy and safe. It didn't help the way I thought it might though. And once I met you, and learned about the whole vampire thing, and saw your mark had stayed black, I guess I never thought about it anymore. It didn't matter."

The two sit in silence for a long while. Eventually, Rosalie tugs up the sleeve of her sweater and places her marked arm next to Emmetts. _Emmett McCarty_ stood out in black - locked in time since the change, never to change to grey even after Emmett underwent his own change to become undead. "I'm glad," Rosalie admits softly. "I'm glad, since we are both alive. And this way, you don't have to hide it, and everyone can see that you are mine." Rose is looking into Emmett's eyes as she says the last bit, and Emmett is so taken by her beauty that he sweeps her into the proper greeting he'd never gotten around to earlier.

…..


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes** : Oh my, this chapter is super short, but I wanted to post something since I realize it's been waaaay too long since my last update. I apologize, as I have no real excuse. Thank you to everyone who has kept interest, read and reviewed!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own anything of the Twilight franchise.

 **Words in Grey: Part IV**

"So, Jasper and Bella, huh?" Emmett says, hours later.

Rosalie finished slipping her shirt over her head before glaring at Emmett. "We don't know that for sure. Jasper has no mark."

"Yeah, but no mark just means that his soulmate was born after he was changed, right?" Emmett grins at the blonde. "Bella sure as heck wasn't born in the 1800s."

The blonde woman says nothing in response, merely sitting on the remade bed and giving Emmett a cold stare. "This isn't the kind of thing we can assume. Since there isn't any way to be one hundred percent sure, we need to be careful. I don't want to go raising Jasper's hopes and then ruining them. He's had more than enough crap in his life already."

"He deserves to know," Emmett says with a frown. He opens his mouth to explain his thoughts, but Rosalie continues on speaking before he has a chance.

"Besides, Bella seems to be resigned to having no soulmate. In the end, she might even prefer that to … well... "

"Immortal life as an undead?" Emmett's face is contorted into a mockery of a smile with his words. He knows the difficulties his soulmate has had with being a vampire over the years, and the reminder of her incomplete happiness always stings.

Rosalie bites her lip and looks at the ground. The pros and cons of being a vampire is something she has always struggled with, and something that has set off some of the biggest fights between her and Emmett over the years. "Emmett," She begins, trying to keep her head this time, to not ruin things when they are going well again. "I wouldn't trade life with you for anything. You know that. But, there are things we lose, with this life. Kids, growing old, change, things that a lot of people might miss. I'm just saying that… Bella, she has family. She has a life here. She'd lived her whole life thinking she'll never have a soulmate and so she has probably focused on other goals. You know how people with broken matches get, they devote themselves to other loves - to kids, careers, hobbies. She might prefer that kind of life."

"It's not for us to decide." Emmett says, no trace of humor in his voice. "Maybe she will, maybe she won't. Maybe Jas and her are matched, maybe they're not. But we can't make decisions for them. Not with this. They don't deserve that."

Both Rosalie and Emmett trail off into silence, thinking about the potential mess here. "Let me talk to Carlisle about it. He needs to know anyways, since there's a big chance that this could mean Bella finding out about the whole undead part of the world. Perhaps he can offer some bette advice."

"Or move us all halfway across the world for the next eighty years," Emmett throws out snidely. Rosalie winces a bit, Emmett doesn't get surly like this often, so she'd still not quite learned how best to navigate him at his worst.

"Perhaps," is all she says. Emmett responds with a short "Fine." before walking out of the room. As the door closes behind him, Rosalie lets herself fall back into the bed, hoping that this mess is worth it.

…

Rosalie doesn't have a chance to speak with Carlisle until he and Esme return from an weekend hunting trip. So Tuesday morning, she sends Emmett to school in his own car and drives her Jeep to the hospital Carlisle is working at. More than familiar with his schedule, Rosalie knows that as long as she arrives before ten, he should be free. Unless some fool had an accident with a chainsaw again, or whatever other nonsense qualifies as an emergency.

Even in the parking lot on the other side of the building from the emergency room, there is a slight, bloody tinge to the air that makes Rosalie's throat constrict. She's never been a fan of tempting her appetite and visiting the hospital, but she is much better able to handle this than Emmett. At least, as long as she heads straight to Carlisle's office and avoids the patient-filled sections of the building.

After the disagreement about how to handle the Bella situation, Rosalie is eager to get in, talk to Carlisle, and hopefully wash her hands of responsibility over the issue. Carlisle is the head of their little family for good reason - he's been around much longer and understands people, both mortal and immortal, to an almost frightening degree. It's fair to say that his insight on the matter should be more than able to overrule anything Rosalie or Emmett think.

She just hopes Carlisle will take care. Rosalie wasn't joking when she told Emmett that Bella might be better off mortal, thanks to how the girl seems to have lived so far.

Taking a deep and unnecessary breath, Rosalie lets out a sigh before getting out of her car and heading quickly into the building.

Carlisle will know the answer, surely.

…..

"Get your phone Jazz," Alice calls out from the other side of the room, moments before the man in question's phone starts ringing.

"Unnecessary, Alice," Jasper calls back to her, rolling his eyes at the girl. As soon as phones had become a typical household item, Alice had developed an unending enjoyment out of letting everyone know its going to ring mere seconds before it actually does. Needless to say, the game is one that _only_ Alice enjoys. Though her ability to find enjoyment in simple things like this, even after decades of repetition, is one of the reasons that Jasper has stuck around his friend for so long.

The phone is still ringing and Alice's grin is growing with each second Jasper delays answering. Damn nostalgia always catches him at the worst moments. Looking at the phone, he sees the caller ID and picks up before it rings for a fifth time.

"What do you need, Carlisle?" Jasper answers shortly. Since becoming a vampire over a hundred years ago, Jasper has also become an extremely strong empath. Jasper had never been able to adjust to his inability to read emotions when talking over the phone, resulting in him keeping these types of conversations as quick and direct as possible - meaning his normal manners disappear entirely.

"Hello to you too, Jasper," The man on the other line says. Jasper may not be able to _feel_ it, but he can almost hear the smile and amusement in Carlisle's words. But that doesn't change the fact that something deep within him always panics at the idea of a conversation with such an integral part of him cut off.

"Carlisle."

"Yes, I'll be quick," Carlisle continues. The ancient man knows full well about Jasper's aversion to the phone, and is kind enough to not make fun of the situation any more than a greeting. "I'd like you to come back to Forks. I know Edward still needs some time, and it would be best for Alice to stay with him to keep an eye out for any future events that need avoiding, but I believe the worst of it is past."

"Who's the empath in this family? I can still feel his desire, Carlisle. The worst may still be around the corner."

"And if you are back in Forks, near the cause of the hunger, you can protect her should Edward slip past Alice's visions. As you said, you are the empath. You know what Edward feels like in hunger, and can be on the lookout for it." Carlisle's voice is crisp and certain as he speaks, and damn if Jasper can't think of a good argument against it. Something about it seems off to Jasper though, but he sure as hell isn't going to figure it out over the phone.

"Fine. I'll drive back tonight."

"Excellent. We look forward to seeing you soon, son."

The phone clicks, Carlisle has hung up. Jasper looks at the phone, slightly perplexed. He's not his son, though the ancient doctor keeps trying to pretend.

"Any thoughts, Alice?" Jasper asks, looking towards his friend.

"Oh, many," She responds, with a manic pixie grin that practically screams 'I know something you don't know'. Her emotions match, pulsing with excitement and amusement.

"Excellent. I guess I'll go pack," Jasper flees from the room, pretending not to hear Alice's cackle as he passes by.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes** : Another really short one (sorry!). I'm trying to get over my laziness and back in the groove of writing, so may do shorter chapters for a while. Thanks to all who are reading, following or reviewing!

And don't worry, Jasper and Bella will meet properly soon!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own anything of the Twilight franchise.

 **Words in Grey: Part V**

"So, which one is this Bella Swan that has caused so much drama lately?" The drawling voice of Jasper murmurs as he slips into a seat at a table in the lunch room beside Emmett and Rosalie.

"Jasper, hey man! I didn't realize you were back already," Emmett smiles as he pats his brother on the shoulder. Despite the big man's easy grin, Jasper can feel a tension in the undercurrent between both of his siblings. His eyes rove from Emmett to Rosalie, taking in the small, yet significant distance between where the two are sitting. Knowing the couple for decades now, Jasper can practically feel the 'domestic disagreement' in the gap between their shoulders. Tiffs between the resident soulmate pair are rare, but they happen, and Jasper is not one to want to get in the middle of any of it. So he doesn't comment on the tension he feels, instead reaching his awareness out to the student body beyond them.

"I just got back, figured I'd get a feel for this girl now, since school's still in session and tomorrow's the start of the weekend. Carlisle updated you on the situation?"

"Yes, we're aware," Rosalie's voice is tight, tense. Jasper assumes she must be unhappy about the risk to her family that Edward's hunger for this girl's blood is causing. It is rare, for a vampire to encounter a human who's blood practically sings for the vampire to consume it, but it does happen. Emmett has felt and fallen for the draw, as has Jasper, though his case was long before he knew the Cullens. Rosalie no doubt remembers well the drama and pain that followed Emmett's craving, especially the guilt that Emmett himself felt. None of them could wish that on their brother, Edward.

"So?" Jasper asks, nodding his head out towards the students in the room. "Which one is Bella Swan?"

Rosalie and Emmett share a look. Jasper doesn't miss the warning glare that Rose shoots Emmett, nor the wince that the man gives off in return. Then the girl stands and sweeps her hair over her shoulders. "Come on, brother mine. Follow me."

…..

Bella lets out a long sigh as she drops her books to the grass and plops down beside them. As soon as she settles, her stomach lets out a long growl and Bella sighs again. Her lunch had been hastily tossed in away as she fled the lunchroom five minutes earlier, feigning a need to check out something in the library in order to escape the gossip filled clutches of Jessica and Mike. While the teen appreciated their attempts to befriend her and include her in their conversations, Bella could only stand so much relationship and soulmate speculation in one week before feeling ready to drill her eardrums out just to silence it. Luckily, the two and Angela all were firm supporters of not failing class, so never questioned Bella's claims of going to study.

But the excuse this time has left her hungry and grumpy and more than ready for Friday to be over.

"Hiding is much more effective when your stomach isn't screaming for attention, you know," the droll voice of Rosalie Hale breaks into Bella's train of thought and the brunette looks up and up to meet the blonde's eyes.

"Oh, hey Rosalie. Yeah, I know. Just… yeah," Bella tries to think of a polite way of saying 'better hungry than driven insane', but ends up stammering uselessly instead. A long silence follows as Bella continues to tilt her neck at an odd angle to see Rosalie. It quickly gets awkward for the teen, who tries to break the silence. "How are you? Oh and thanks for helping me find these sweaters, it's a lot nicer sitting out here with them. Not so freezing."

A much more masculine voice lets out a muffled snort after that comment. Bella starts, then cranes her head around the tree she's leaning against even further, finally seeing that Rosalie is standing next to a tall blond male.

"My brother, Jasper," Rosalie introduces with an offhand wave of her hand. Then she makes a disgruntled face and moves around the tree, closer to Bella. Reaching down, she pulls the girl up before Bella even has time to process the move. "Now, come on, there's a vending machine somewhere around the gym. Your stomach's growling is annoying. See you later, Jasper."

And Rosalie is off, leading Bella back inside.

"Oh, sure. Thanks," Bella says, before remembering her manners and the fact that - abruptly or not - she had in fact just been introduced to someone. Turning around to face the blond standing behind them, she lifts her free hand to wave. "Nice you meet you, Jasper. I'm Bella."

Bella and Rosalie are already at the building's entrance before Jasper replies, his introduction lost in the quiet breeze.

…

"I love pretzels," Bella gushes as she holds the bag over her mouth so the crumbs drop into her waiting mouth. "Thanks Rosalie, that hit the spot."

The girl in question just nods, and continues filing her nails as she leans against the wall next to Bella. "I'll introduce you properly later," Rosalie says. Without context it takes Bella a moment to realize the girl is talking about her brother, Jasper.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"I just realized, once I said it, that you might not be comfortable with it. Since his first name is, well, you know." Her voice is quiet as she makes the admission. Bella would almost say the girl is embarrassed, or at the very least uncomfortable.

"It's not an uncommon name. Jasper. I've met people with it before. I've gotten used to saying it," Bella tries to sound more confident than she is with the assurance. "Though, it is… I dunno… saying the name sometimes feels like cursing in a church or something. Like… ugh, I don't know how to really explain it…" the teen trails off, unsure if she even wants to try to explain the odd hollowness that has haunted her life thanks to the unmistakable grey brand on her arms.

"Alice calls him Jazz sometimes. Would that be better?"

Bella looks into the blonde's eyes in surprise. Once again she's caught by the unobtrusive kindness the cold girl has shown the situation. Smiling Bella nods, "Maybe, yeah."

"Alright. Jazz it is." Rosalie nods as well, clicking two of her fingernails together and removing her back from the wall. Moments later the bell signalling the end of the lunch out rings, and the blonde disappears down the hall without a backwards glance.

Bella just gives a small laugh and turns to make her way to her next class.

…..


End file.
